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Tag: biological waste

From Waste To Wealth: How One Pet Product Innovator Is Shaping A Sustainable Future

Posted on by dishanth
From Waste To Wealth: How One Pet Product Innovator Is Shaping A Sustainable Future

Founded in 2009 on the humble yet profound idea to make life with dogs simpler and better, Canadian company Earth Rated has evolved from being known just as a company that sells dog waste bags to now offering a diverse range of products that address the needs of dog owners worldwide.

The company now has a presence in over 40 countries, and is focused on product innovation and using business as a force for good. I recently caught up with Earth Rated CEO, Abby Gnanendran, to delve into these topics and how the company, which is also a certified B Corp, is shaping what it means to be sustainable in the pet product industry.

Abby Gnanendran: Back in 2009, we recognized a common issue faced by dog owners – the inconvenience of using large, flimsy, and wasteful grocery store bags to pick up after their dogs. That’s when we set out to create affordable, leak-proof, and high-quality poop bags, along with a handy dispenser. Since then, we’ve continued to innovate and launch new products to make life with dogs simpler and better. Today, Earth Rated bags are used by over 4.5 million people daily and can be found in over 20,000 stores in 40+ countries. We now have a new toy collection, a line of wipes and even more exciting things in the pipeline. We couldn’t be prouder of our humble beginnings and we’re grateful for what we’ve been able to achieve to date.

 

Marquis: It seems a big focus of Earth Rated is on innovation, in a product category that is not known for innovation. Can you say more about your innovation process?

Gnanendran: Our sharp focus on innovation is largely due to our community of loyal customers. Their keen observation of the details that our Innovation Team works tirelessly to bring to life, motivates us to continue creating thoughtfully designed products. For instance, their reaction to the convenient ‘3-bags-left’ sticker on our poop bag rolls, as well as our new toy line, has been nothing short of amazing. Innovation is so important for our company that in 2023, we unveiled our new Innovation Centre. This creative and inspiring space is on an entirely new floor at our Headquarters in Montreal, Canada, and serves as the primary hub for our Innovation Team to bring new products to life. We strive to make sure every detail of our products are carefully thought out, reliable and beautifully designed with our customers in mind. This centre’s open-plan layout, and flexible workspaces, create an environment that fosters innovative thinking. The space is intentionally designed to inspire and facilitate the flow of ideas, enabling the Innovation Team to push the boundaries of what’s possible in dog product development. Whether it’s the thickness of our poop bags, the signature hook on our dispenser, or the durability of our plant-based grooming wipes, we’re always evolving in order to tackle the most pressing consumer pain points from our valuable Earth Rated community so that we can offer the products pet owners wish they had.

 

Marquis: How do you think this approach to innovation and new products will affect the overall dog product industry?

Gnanendran: We began with a humble foundation, primarily centred around providing an essential dog product: poop bags. We’ve since evolved towards an approach steeped in innovation, recognizing that incorporating customer feedback into our daily operations is really our way of helping to propel the industry forward. We believe our company stands out in the pet industry because we actively listen to consumer feedback. By soliciting and valuing input from our community of dog owners worldwide, we ensure that our products not only meet their needs but exceed their expectations.

 

Marquis: How does your B Corp certification play into that impact? Why is B Corp certification important to Earth Rated?

Gnanendran: We’re incredibly proud to be a certified B Corp. For us, transparency is key. At the end of the day, anyone can claim to be sustainable, but having a third-party certification that can actually back it up, makes your brand more trustworthy. We also joined GreenCircle’s #BrandsYouCanTrust initiative by undergoing their Recycled Content Certification. By participating in initiatives that promote ethical business conduct, we’re not only elevating our own standards but also encouraging a collective industry-wide commitment to integrity and responsibility.

 

Marquis: What is the next set of innovations and plans you have in store for consumers?

Gnanendran: Overall, 2023 was such a pivotal year for our company as we revealed a new brand identity, a new innovation centre, a better poop bag, and a new collection of toys. It’s hard to believe we could ever top it, but 2024 is gearing up to be an exciting year! Looking ahead, we plan on continuing to push boundaries, challenge the status quo, and innovate for a brighter, more responsible future, for us and for our dogs. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source    Forbes

Growing Food with Human Waste

Posted on by dishanth
Growing Food with Human Waste

Growing Food with Human Waste is Needed

A few projects are looking at growing food with human waste, including researchers from the Laboratoire Eau Environnement et Systemes Urbains just outside of Paris. They are switching out harmful synthetic fertilizers from being used on their wheat crops to urine-based fertilisers. And they are seeing positive results as the waste-based fertilizers provide organic matter that improves the soil.

Farmers in a small town in Tepetixtla, Mexico, use fertilizer made from human excrement to fertilize their crops. Growing food with human waste requires a composting process used to be hygienic and better for the soil and biodiversity. Moreover, growing food with human waste also saves water and reduces pollution because the excrement isn’t flushed into the sewage system.

In Vermont, the Rich Earth Institute runs a community program that turns human urine into fertilizer. The Institute conducts original research to examine the safety and efficacy of urine-derived fertilizers in agriculture. The program encourages community members to donate their urine to help them further their research. In 2021, 180 people donated their urine to the Rich Earth Institute.

In Kenya, the organization Sanivation developed a fecal sludge treatment plant. The plant can serve 10,000 people and produce 350 tons of fuel per month. This can be used as a cooking and industrial fuel, a sustainable option for charcoal made from fallen trees. Each plant ensures that water is safely managed, creates local employment, prevents environmental pollution and saves trees through their innovative biofuels.

In Switzerland, a company called Sanitation 360 developed a urine cassette that collects, contains, treats and concentrates the urine inside the toilet. The urine is then stabilized, dehydrated, and used directly as a fertilizer. The fertilizer includes the same type and concentration of plant nutrients in commercial fertilizers. By converting urine into a dried fertilizer, the flow of polluting plant nutrients to the environment can be minimized, which can help limit nutrient overload and dead zones in aquatic ecosystems.

Human excrement is one of the world’s most natural things, and it’s a shame that much of it is going to waste. While we may get queasy thinking about fertilizing our crops with human excrement, do we know what is in the currently used fertilizers? What is more natural and less environmentally damaging than something from our bodies? With more organizations and researchers finding new sanitary ways to use human excrement as fertilizers, this may become the new normal and the new way of food production.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco

Biomimicry in Sustainable Designs

Posted on by dishanth
Biomimicry in Sustainable Designs

Biomimicry in Sustainable Design

The construction industry is very energy intensive. Steel and concrete, both popular materials in construction, are very carbon-intensive in their production. Many of the emissions from concrete production are attributed to burning fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, which heat up the limestone and clay that becomes Portland cement. There is an opportunity for the construction industry to shape a nature-positive economy from the city to the building design and material and component levels.

The Mobius Project, a greenhouse designed by Iguana Architects, uses biomimicry in sustainable design by drawing inspiration from how ecosystems in nature work. They are committed to revolutionizing food production by turning waste into locally grown, low-carbon nutritious food. The biological waste can also be turned into methane to generate electricity for the greenhouse. In their closed cycle with zero waste, one organism’s waste becomes the next’s input. The idea for the Mobius Project came from observing the oak tree, which has the potential to reuse its output resources, including materials, energy and water.

The Eden Project, designed by exploration architecture, uses biomimicry in sustainable design with a giant greenhouse inspired by the biblical Garden of Eden. It was designed to resemble soap bubbles, carbon molecules, and radiolaria. The idea was that the soap bubbles would be optimally positioned in the sun to allow for complete self-healing. They also took inspiration from dragonfly wings for the best way to assemble steel pieces, allowing for a lightweight structure that required fewer carbon emissions to transport from place to place.

Designers have also looked at lotus leaves to decrease the need for protective finishings, which are usually toxic. The lotus leaf has tiny hairs covered with a waxy coating that allows it to stay dry. Water that hits the leaf will roll off the waxy nonpolar coating. This has inspired a protective coating for external areas that will repel water and dirt, which reduces the need for maintenance. Moreover, reducing the water accumulation in buildings will reduce deterioration mechanisms in infrastructures, such as steel corrosion, sulphate attacks, freezing and thawing.

Limestone-producing bacteria can be used to extend a building’s lifespan. Certain bacteria can produce limestone, filling the gaps and cracks that affect concrete structures over time. This can reduce the need to use new concrete for repairs.

Learning from nature and imputing the way nature works into our designs and in the construction industry can make our built environments more sustainable. There’s so much we can learn from nature; the more we discover, the more we can work toward reducing our impact on the planet.

 

 

 

 

Source Happy Eco News